Grant County Wisconsin

Grindey, Jesse J.
Army Staff sergeant

Jesse J. Grindey, age 30, from Hazel Green, Wisconsin, Grant county.

Service era: Afghanistan

Spouse: Mirafe

Children: Jesse Jr. and Joanna Grindey

Parents: Sara Grindey and Richard Grindey

School: Southwestern High (2001)
Military history: 287th Military Police Company, 97th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Date of death: Monday, March 12, 2012
Death details: Passed away in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. No details provided by the Department of Defense.

Cemetery: Saint Francis de Sales, Hazel Green

Source: Department of Defense, Military Times, Haudenshield Funeral Home

Splinter, Christopher Jon
Army Major

Christopher Jon Splinter, age 43, from Platteville, Wisconsin, Grant county.

Spouse: Penny Splinter
Children: Mitchell Splinter, 13 and Rachel Splinter, 10

Service era: Iraq
Military history: Hhc, 5Th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo 65473

Date of death: Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Death details: Hostile; Balad, Iraq

Source: Department of Defense, Washington Post, Military Times

Richardson, Edmond William
Army Staff sergeant

Edmond William Richardson, age 27, from Potosi, Wisconsin, Grant county.

Spouse: Christine H. Richardson

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Sunday, September 13, 1970
Death details: Killed in Vietnam

Source: National Archives, UPI (1970)

Purkapile, Leonard Virgil
Army Private 1st class

Leonard Virgil Purkapile, age 26, from Boscobel, Wisconsin, Grant county.

Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment

Date of death: Tuesday, November 28, 1950
Death details: Died while missing, North Korea. Accounted for 2018
Cemetery: Hillside, Lancaster

Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association

McIlhattan, Vernald Graves
Army Captain

Vernald Graves McIlhattan, age 28, from Grant County Muscoda, Wisconsin .

Parents: F. V. McIlhattan
Spouse: Married
Children: Nancy Jo, 4

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, December 15, 1945
Death details: On December 13, 1944, Japanese forces in the Philippines began the transfer of 1,621 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) to Japan. The POWs were to make the journey aboard transport ships whose harsh conditions and extreme overcrowding led survivors to refer to them as “Hell Ships.” The ships also lacked markings that would distinguish them from any other military target, causing some of them to be attacked by Allied forces who could not identify them as POW transports. On December 14, 1944, Allied aircraft attacked the first ship, the Oryoku Maru, in Subic Bay in the Philippines, killing many Allied POWs who became lost in the water, sank with the ship, or were washed ashore. Survivors of the bombing were put aboard two other ships, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, to continue on to Japan. During the journey, while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), the Enoura Maru was attacked by Allied aircraft from the USS Hornet (CV-8), killing Allied POWs who were lost in the water, on board the ship, or on the nearby shore. Survivors of the Enoura Maru bombing were loaded onto the Brazil Maru, and reached Japan on January 30, 1945. As a result of these incidents, Allied POWs were lost in the Philippines, at sea between the Philippines and Taiwan, while anchored in Taiwan, at sea between Taiwan and Japan, and in Japan. The attacks on these POW transports ultimately resulted in a series of death notifications from the Japanese government through the International Red Cross (IRC), and some casualties were given up to five different dates of death at various locations during the transfer. Witness accounts from surviving POWs offer detailed information for a handful of casualties, but the specific dates of loss and/or last-known locations for many of these POWs are based on the most recent reported date of death. Captain Vernald Graves McIlhattan, who joined the U.S. Army in California, served in the 92nd Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division (Philippine Scouts) in the Philippines during World War II. He was taken as a POW following the Japanese invasion and was interned in the islands until December 1944, when he was put aboard the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. Records indicate CPT McIlhattan was killed several weeks later in the attack on the Enoura Maru; however, these reports often involve information solely furnished by enemy governments, with some casualties given multiple dates of death. Future research may determine that these reports were inaccurate. Attempts to locate and identify CPT McIlhattan’s remains following the end of hostilities were unsuccessful. Today, Captain McIlhattan is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Capital Times (1945)

Eisele, Edwin Frederick
Navy Reserves Torpedoman’s mate 3rd class

Edwin Frederick Eisele from Fennimore, Wisconsin, Grant county.

Parents: Jennie Eisele

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, December 18, 1944
Death details: He was aboard the destroyer USS Hull as it operated as part of the Fast Carrier Strike Force in the Philippine Sea. On December 17, 1944, the Hull was participating in refueling operations when the ships of its fueling group were engulfed by Typhoon Cobra. The Hull lost its ability to steer amid the enormous waves and began taking on water. The Hull eventually took on too much water to stay afloat and rolled and sank shortly before noon, on December 18. Sixty-two crew members were rescued, but a little more than two-hundred crew members were lost in the sinking.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Duncan, James A.
Army Private 1st class

James A. Duncan from Wisconsin, Grant county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Thursday, June 25, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor and food and water supplied extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Private First Class James A. Duncan entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Wisconsin and served with the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of malaria on June 25, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private First Class Duncan is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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